Confident Turkey Looks East, Not West

Tossing insults back and forth is not the typical protocol for future working partners. Officially, Turkey remains a candidate for EU membership. Yet analysts ponder the likelihood for accession, after the EU did not invite the potential partner to the 50th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Rome and after a columnist summed up Turkish sentiment by writing that the EU has “become a fat midget” and a land of “small-thinkers.” Turkey’s confidence has grown in its role as an economic and regional political leader, cultivating influence among its Asian neighbors. EU leaders must act quickly to woo the country which, as both member of NATO and the Islamic Conference Organization, could serve as a powerful liaison between the West and the Middle East. – YaleGlobal